Two of ESPN’s broadcasters, during their coverage of the NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament Friday, took a moment of silence in solidarity with their fellow LGBTQIA+ Disney employees in protesting Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” legislation.
Carolyn Peck and Courtney Lyle took a brief pause from their broadcast after they said live on air that a few minutes prior they had been asked to show their solidarity and support for Disney’s LBGTQIA+ employees.
“Normally at this time we would take a look back at the first half, but there are things that are bigger than basketball that need to be addressed,”Lyle said. “Our friends, our family, our coworkers, the players and coaches in our community are hurting right now.”
“The threat to any rights is a threat to all human rights, and at this time, Courtney and I are going to take a pause to show our love and support for our friends, our families and our colleagues,”Peck also added.
Lyle and Peck remained silent for approximately two minutes during Friday’s game between No. 1 seed South Carolina, No. 16 seed Richmond, even though play continued.
Elle Duncan was another ESPN broadcaster. Similar declaration of allegianceDuring the same broadcast, she was joined by LGBTQIA+ workers. She confirmed that several Disney employees had taken part in a brief walkout during breaks from work. The demonstrations started on Tuesday and continued throughout the week.
Disney and Chapek have been mired in controversy surrounding Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay”The bill will be in effect for several weeks. The legislation, also known as the Parental Rights in Education Act, was created to prevent Florida schools teaching students about topics such as sexual orientation or gender identity between kindergarten and third grade.
On March 8, the bill was passed by the Florida Senate. Republican Governor. Ron DeSantis previously stated that he plans to sign the bill into law. The controversy cropped up over Disney’s initial silence to the bill and reports that the company had given donations to politicians who were sponsors or co-sponsors of the legislation.
But things got worse when a leaked internal memo said Chapek had defended the company’s lack of a public statement. Chapek agreed to meet DeSantis, claiming that Disney representatives had lobby against the bill behind closed doors. DeSantis didn’t change his mind. He even mocked Disney. “woke”Chapek, the corporation, finally agreed to stop all political donations and again apologized to LGBTQ employees.
